The other Lady

Justin Bieber deserved better (really): Esperanza Spalding is a Grammy travesty

Hard as it may be to believe, Justin Bieber deserved better. Bieber losing theBest New Artist award at the Grammys is believable.
Losing it to Esperanza Spalding is not.

When it comes to Grammy night, from my point of view there is a strict code of priority: Awards, performances, couture and then tawdry rumors.

So without further ado, let's review the best and worst of the 53rd Grammy Awards on Sunday night in that order:

A Night Prepped For Pop Turns Country — Heading into the Grammy ceremony, it seemed pre-ordained that the night was going to belong to either teen pop sensation Justin Bieber or 21st Century pop diva Lady Gaga. Surprisingly it was another Lady that was the big winner on the evening.

Country newcomers Lady Antebellum’s single “Need You Now” won five of the six awards it was nominated for including Record of the Year, Songs of the Year and Best Country Album.

Lady Gaga was not embarrassed winning three of the five awards she was nominated for, but Bieber was. Despite the pre-Grammy hype, he was completely shutout in the Best Pop Vocal Album and Best New Artist categories. Which brings us to the night’s biggest upset — even bigger than Arcade Fire in Album of the Year.

Best New Artist A Jaw-Dropper — The fact the Bieber lost the Best New Artist Award is believable considering the field included strong competition from the soulful Florence & The Machine, rapper Drake and the folk strings of Mumford & Sons.

The fact that they all lost to Esperanza Spalding is a travesty.

No offense to Ms. Spalding, because she seems to be an immensely talented jazz artist, but she simply didn’t have the sales numbers or buzz to merit this award. Not since Milli Vanilli’s win in 1990 has there been a more peculiar turn of events in this category.

“F*% You, Cee Lo Stole The Show” — Dressed like a psychedelic disco ball-dipped chicken that celebrated the heyday of George Clinton & Parliament Funkadelic, Cee Lo Green performed his censored song, retitled “Forget You”, with the backing of a super-fly Muppet entourage and actress Gwyneth Paltrow.

Not only did his performance surpass anything else on the night’s Grammy stage, he gave us the best character to sit at a grand piano since Elton John some 35 years ago.

Performances Surprisingly Focused On The Past — From the nearly 15 minute tribute to Aretha Franklin to open the show by a cross-section of female superstars, including Christina Aguilera, Jennifer Hudson, Martina McBride and Houston’s own Yolanda Adams, to an acoustic version of Dolly Parton’s “Jolene” by Norah Jones, Keith Urban and John Mayer, the night’s many performances were highly focused on pop music’s past, as opposed to its future.

Even Rolling Stone’s lead man Mick Jagger bypassed his myriad hits to pay tribute to Solomon Burke with a cover of “Everybody Needs Somebody To Love.”

By comparison, the birth of Lady Gaga from her pre-Grammy “womb” prop and the pairing of Bieber and Usher fell a little flat. Only Cee Lo and Muse’s faux British stage riot for “Uprising” did credit to any performances of music that was actually released last year.

- Worst Outfit Court Is Still Out — I can't decide if Miley Cyrus's side-cleavage, Rihanna's feather-striped peek-a-boo gown or Miranda Lambert's ill-fitting pleather was best suited for the strip club.

As a critic I was offended. As a man I was curiously confused.

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Concert News

Jack Johnson rides into Houston on surf-themed 2026 tour

Photo by Tahnei Roy

Jack Johnson will play at Dos Equis Pavilion in Dallas on August 30, 2026.

Singer-songwriter Jack Johnson, known his for laidback surf-rock music, will embark on the SURFILMUSIC Tour in 2026, which will include a stop at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands on Friday, August 28.

The expansive 43-date North American tour, which starts on June 19 in Gilford, New Hampshire, will have three separate legs.

The three Texas dates — The Woodlands on August 28, Austin on August 29, and Dallas on August 30 — will be part of the second leg, where Johnson will be joined by Lake Street Dive.

The tour is Johnson’s first since 2022 and will celebrate a new era of music, film, and environmental connection rooted in his 20+ year career.

Johnson is touring in support of a forthcoming soundtrack, scored by Johnson and Hermanos Gutiérrez for a new documentary, SURFILMUSIC, that chronicles Johnson’s evolution from surfer to filmmaker to musician.

The film, which will be released in 2026, weaves through the making of his iconic surf films Thicker Than Water (1999) and The September Sessions (2000), which paved the way for his music career.

It celebrates the lifelong friendships and ocean-driven community that shaped Johnson’s path, and features many of the surfers who appeared in the original films, including Kelly Slater, Rob Machado, and the Malloy Brothers.

Johnson released his first album, Brushfire Fairytales, in 2001, and he has gone on to put out eight other albums, most recently Meet the Moonlight in 2022.

Fans can register for the Jack Johnson presale at jackjohnsonmusic.com, now through Sunday, November 9. The presale begins Monday, November 10, 2025 at 10 am local time and runs through general on-sale date of Friday, November 14.

Jack Johnson SURFILMUSIC 2026 Tour Dates

June 19 – Gilford, NH – Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion
June 20 – Mansfield, MA – Xfinity Center
June 21 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
June 24 – Saratoga, NY – Saratoga Performing Arts Center
June 26 – Columbia, MD – Merriweather Post Pavilion
June 27 – Philadelphia, PA – Highmark Mann Center
June 28 – Wantagh, NY – Northwell at Jones Beach Theater
June 30 – Toronto, ON – RBC Amphitheatre
July 1 – Canandaigua, NY – CMAC
July 3 – Burgettstown, PA – Pavilion at Star Lake
July 4 – Noblesville, IN – Ruoff Music Center
July 5 – Grand Rapids, MI – Acrisure Amphitheater
July 7 – Cuyahoga Falls, OH – Blossom Music Center
July 8 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
July 10 – Clarkston, MI – Pine Knob Music Theatre
July 11 – Chicago, IL – Huntington Bank Pavilion at Northerly Island
July 12 – Shakopee, MN – Minnesota Quarry Amphitheater
August 18 – West Palm Beach, FL – iTHINK Financial Amphitheatre
August 19 – Tampa, FL – MIDFLORIDA Credit Union Amphitheatre
August 21 – Alpharetta, GA – Ameris Bank Amphitheatre
August 22 – Raleigh, NC – Coastal Credit Union Music Park
August 23 – Charlotte, NC – PNC Music Pavilion
August 25 – Nashville, TN – Ascend Amphitheater
August 26 – Orange Beach, AL – The Wharf Amphitheater
August 28 – The Woodlands, TX – Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion
August 29 – Austin, TX – Germania Insurance Amphitheater
August 30 – Dallas, TX – Dos Equis Pavilion
September 1 – Riverside, MO – MORTON Amphitheater
September 2 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
September 3 – Greenwood Village, CO – Fiddler’s Green Amphitheatre
September 4 – West Valley City, UT – USANA Amphitheatre
September 6 – Stateline, NV – Lake Tahoe Amphitheatre at Caesars Republic
September 26 – George, WA – The Gorge Amphitheatre
September 27 – Bend, OR – Hayden Homes Amphitheater
September 28 – Troutdale, OR – McMenamins Edgefield Amphitheater
September 30–October 1 – Berkeley, CA – The Greek Theatre
October 3 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
October 4 – Santa Barbara, CA – Santa Barbara Bowl
October 6 – Phoenix, AZ – Talking Stick Resort Amphitheatre
October 9 – Chula Vista, CA – North Island Credit Union Amphitheatre
October 10– Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl
October 11– Los Angeles, CA – Hollywood Bowl

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